The regular use of a condom offers about a 70% chance of preventing the virus' spread, plus there are assorted antibacterial creams that can be utilized, which will help. Remember that sexually transmitted diseases are not limited to the genital areas only. HPV has been seen as a factor in anal, throat, and mouth cancers, so precautions need to be taken during all sexual activity.
Best of all is the new development of a vaccine that has just received FDA approval in 2006. Gardasil has been approved for women aged 9 to 29. Not only is it effective against two of the cancer-causing sexually transmitted variants, it's also effective for use against non-sexually transmitted types of the virus that are responsible for plantar warts and other uncomfortable skin conditions. So don't go flying off the handle about encouraging pre-teens to have sex — it's just a vaccine that has a multitude of positive uses.
If there is something that should be making people upset about this vaccine or about the report in general, it's why the other half of the equation hasn't been tested or studied. In most cases of heterosexual relationships it's not just a woman involved — for a woman to contract HPV she has to have caught it from someone.
But instead of examining or testing men for the virus, medical research has focused its efforts on women when it comes to prevention. Why not look at ways that men can prevent the transmission as well? Women may be the ones most at risk so there is an obvious need for them to be tested for that reason, but why not go to the source of the risk for testing and prevention?
Yes, a man can wear a condom and cut down on the chances of passing a sexually transmitted disease, but why not develop a vaccine for men? Wouldn't it increase the chances of safety if men as well as women had secure preventive techniques?
But it's just like with birth control. The onus for prevention is still placed squarely on the shoulders of the woman and not the man, even though a pregnancy can't happen under normal circumstances without both participating. The old line - if men could get pregnant think of the advances in reproductive technology that would have been made by now - when applied to sexually transmitted diseases becomes even more appropriate; men do get and transmit disease just as readily as women.
Article comments
1 - Tim
This is a situation where parents should talk to their family doctor (whom they presumably trust), to get all of the information before making a decision. Sara of Parenting With Sara just wrote a column about this, illustrating how parents can become confused when they lack information. cheers, tk
2 - Purple Tigress
Oh, that's the obvious question in my mind. If you wanted to stop an epidemic wouldn't you want to vaccinate the carrier?
I actually haven't heard of any reason why the current vaccine wouldn't work on boys and men, but since the focus is on women it would seem that the old stigma of cervical cancer being a bad girls cancer hasn't totally gone away. It's just been transmuted from it's the girl's fault to it's a girl's responsibility.
It should be the responsibility of both parties.
Please note that HPV isn't commonly tested for, even in the porn industry and other sex workers.
3 - Good Girl
Cervical cancer is nothing to be ashamed about and HPV is NOT the only cause of cervical cancer...not an STD
I have it and consider myself morally respectable and a lady...Thank You!
4 - Shelley
I've just been vaccinated with Gardasil, it is not yet mandatory in our school, but i took advantage if this free vaccination.
I totally agree, if you want to stop the spread of a disease you knock out the main character. Gardasil is safe to use on males, but was only registered as a cervical cancer vaccine thus the free vaccination of only females...
The responsibility should not just fall on the females to stop the spread of HPV's but also the male carriers.....
5 - HPV
Hpv is a huge Std these days its so easy to catch and condoms don't even work against this Std. It seems everyone has it and people are starting to talk about it more wich is important.